Over My Head (My Heart Vs My Soul)
by Romanticly tragic perfection
Summary: A rewrite of One Tree Hill where Lucas chose Peyton in 1X09 with a slow building romance for Brucas. Brooke and Lucas have the same heart but he and Peyton have the same soul. Which matters more?
1. Chapter 1

**Over My Head (My Heart Vs. My Soul)**

 **Summary: A rewrite of One Tree Hill where Lucas chose Peyton in 1X09 with a slow building romance for Brucas. Brooke and Lucas have the same heart but he and Peyton have the same soul. Which matters more?**

 _Has anyone made you feel special that you thought he was falling for you and you start to fall for him too? Then when you already did, he breaks the news that he's in love with someone and that someone is not you?_

 _-unknown_

* * *

"Peyton?" Lucas said, surprised to see her.

"I heard about Nathan." Peyton said

"Yeah, he's going to be okay," Lucas said, relieved. "So' what's up?" he asked, when he realized Peyton wasn't leaving.

"Lucas, I made a mistake," Peyton blurted. "When you said you wanted to be with me, I got, I got scared, but,"

"Peyton," Lucas said, trying to stop her.

"But, the truth is…I want all the same things that you want, I do. And I want them with you." She smiled, waiting for him to say something.

"Okay, superstar, are you ready to score?" Brooke asked, skipping into the room.

Peyton took in Brooke's appearance and her eyes widened. She was wearing Lucas's grey hoodie…and nothing else.

"Hey we missed you after the game tonight," Brooke said, when she noticed Peyton in the room.

"Yeah. I guess I just kind of got turned around," Peyton said turning to leave.

"Peyton" Lucas called out to her, making her pause.

Brooke looked between the two of them wondering what was going on.

"Brooke, I'm sorry…but I can't do this," Lucas said, turning to look at the brunette. "I really like you…but I want to see if Peyton and I can make this work-"

"Say no more," Brooke said, with a sad smile. "I'll leave you two to talk,"

She went into his room to get her clothes. She sighed.

Of course Lucas wanted to give it a try with Peyton.

She was Brooke Davis. She was the one you went to if you wanted to have a good time but not the one men chose when they wanted something serious.

She never got the guy.

She fought tears.

She heard Lucas and Peyton talking.

"You really mean it?" Peyton asked.

"Yeah, I want to give us a chance." He said.

Brooke slipped out the front door not wanting to face them.

Tomorrow she was going to be Team Leyton but tonight she was mourning the end of Brucas before it even had a chance to begin.

Just for tonight.

* * *

 **Author's note: Let me know what you think please.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Over My Head (My Heart Vs. My Soul)**

 **Summary: A rewrite of One Tree Hill where Lucas chose Peyton in 1X09 with a slow building romance for Brucas. Brooke and Lucas have the same heart but he and Peyton have the same soul. Which matters more?**

 _"You don't love someone because they're perfect, you love them in spite of the fact that they're not."_  
 _― Jodi Picoult, __My Sister's Keeper _

* * *

Lucas woke up alone. Wondering if last night had been a dream. He got out of bed and found Keith in the kitchen doing the dishes.

"You look like hell," Keith said.

Lucas chuckled.

"I didn't get much sleep." He said.

"Why not? What's up?" Keith asked.

Lucas shrugged.

"You ever have a tough decision to make and wonder if you made the right choice," Lucas asked, thinking about Brooke.

She was fun to be around and he could tell there was more to her.

But he knew that if he didn't at least give it a try with Peyton then he'd always be haunted by what if.

"What kind of choice are you talking about?" Keith asked.

Lucas started to say something when someone knocked at the door.

They both turned to Brooke come in balancing three cups of coffee.

"Morning Broody…" she said, smiling.

Lucas smiled, wondering how anyone could be that cheerful in the morning. She handed him a cup of coffee.

"Thank you," Lucas said, grinning.

They stared at each other for a second while Keith's eyes flickered between them.

"I think your good," Keith said, thinking that Brooke was his girlfriend.

Brooke turned to him, looking confused.

Lucas blushed.

"No…We're not…she's not…um," he stammered and Keith laughed.

Brooke kinked her eyebrow.

"Oh, Broody. There's no need to be shy," she purred and Lucas rubbed the back of his neck.

"Keith, this is my _**friend**_ , Brooke. Brooke, my uncle Keith," he introduced.

Brooke handed Keith a cup of coffee.

"Hi," she said, and Keith smiled.

"Hi," he said, looking at the cup.

Brooke turned back to Lucas.

"I brought a cup for Peyton. She still sleep?" Brooke asked and Lucas shook his head.

"Peyton went home. She said she wanted to start fresh today," Lucas said, not wanting to tell her that she felt uncomfortable in his room after seeing Brooke half-naked.

"Peyton?" Keith questioned.

Lucas grinned.

"Yeah, we're dating now," he told his uncle.

Keith noticed the way Brooke's smile dipped for a second before she forced it back up.

"We'll that's nice," he said, not so sure about Lucas's choice.

"We've got to get out of here, all right?" Lucas said, and Brooke took a sip of the coffee she brought for Peyton.

"Okay," Keith said. "Don't forget, your mom's calling from Italy at 6:00 p.m. sharp."

"Right. I'll be here. Promise." Lucas said.

"Okay," Keith said again.

Lucas held the door open for Brooke and Keith saw the way his eyes trailed over her.

He chuckled.

"This is going to be interesting," he said to himself.

….

Lucas watched Brooke out of the corner of his eye.

She seemed to be okay.

"Look, about last night, I feel really bad about-" he started and Brooke slapped him on the arm.

"Don't apologize. It's not a big deal. We were just having fun and you and Peyton have been circling each other for weeks," Brooke said.

"I had no idea that Peyton was coming over last night, and we-" Lucas tried.

"Make a really good couple. Now you guys can brood together," Brooke interrupted.

"Yeah, but," Lucas started and Brooke laughed.

"Seriously, I'm fine," she lied.

"You sure?" Lucas questioned.

Brooke nodded.

"I'm sure. You know, I'm really happy for you guys. You're a good guy, Broody and Peyton my best friend. I know you'll be good for her. Now tell me what happened with you and P. Sawyer after I left," Brooke said.

Lucas smiled, relieved that he hadn't lost his new friend.

He had a feeling that Brooke Davis was going to be someone really important in his life and he would hate to lose her.

…..

Lucas was waiting for Peyton at her locker when she got to school.

"Hey, Lucas. What are you doing here?" she asked.

Lucas smiled and placed his hands on her waist from behind.

"I go here, Remember? And I was hoping to walk my new girlfriend to class this morning," he said.

"Oh really?" Peyton said, putting her books in her locker.

"You know, I had a dream about you last night," Lucas said, when she turned around.

Peyton smirked.

"Well, what happened in this dream?" she asked, slyly.

"I slowly but gently took you into my arms and brought you real close like this…" he pulled her close and kissed her.

"Hmm," Lucas said one they broke apart.

It was a nice kiss but there was something missing.

He wasn't sure what it was.

"It's been a while since the last time we kissed. Are you feeling the need to run off and leave again?" he asked.

Peyton frowned.

"I'm joking," Lucas said, and Peyton gave a forced smile.

"Yeah," she whispered.

"What's wrong?" he asked, when she wouldn't meet his eyes.

He noticed her looking at something to his left. He followed her gaze and saw Brooke coming towards them.

"Oh," he said. "Brooke's okay. I spoke with her this morning,"

Peyton gave him a look before smoothing out her face.

"That's good. I…um, I got to go," Peyton said. "You still want to walk me to class?" she asked.

"Yeah," Lucas said, and Peyton grabbed his arm, pulling him in the opposite direction of Brooke.

He shot her a wave offer his shoulder ad she waved back smiling.

"Catch you later," he mouthed, as Peyton pulled him around the corner.

Brooke's smile faded when he was out of sight.

….

Lucas was walking with Peyton when he spotted Hayley.

"Hey, Luke," Hayley said, and Lucas smirked, his arm wrapped around Peyton's shoulder.

"Hey, Hales, you know my girlfriend, Peyton, right?" he asked, and Hayley's eyes widened.

"Oh, God," Peyton said, embarrassed at the same time Hayley said "What?"

Peyton left Lucas with Hayley.

"I'll see you later," she said.

Hayley was still in shock.

"You…since when?" she stammered.

"Well, since last night," he said and they started walking.

"It's really easy," he said. "Peyton and I just make sense you know,"

Hayley laughed.

"Yeah, you must be on top of the world," she said.

"Yeah," Lucas said, but he wondered why something still felt off.

"I'm happy for you guys. I've seen Peyton really try to make an effort to turn things around so I'm glad everything worked out. But what about Brooke?" Hayley questioned.

"Things with Brooke are good. She brought us coffee this morning." Lucas said, taking a sip of his Pepsi.

"Good. Glad Brooke consistently nice and easy," Hayley said, and Lucas shot her a hard look.

"Excuse me. Brooke's not that bad. She makes me laugh. She's honest. She's not afraid to be herself. And I think you guys would be good friends if you got to know each other," Lucas said, defensively.

"Yeah, right," Hayley said, rolling her eyes.

"Seriously, Brooke Davis is a good friend and Peyton is going to be a great girlfriend." Lucas smiled.

She and Lucas sat on the bench.

"Whatever. If you're happy, I'm happy," Hayley said, nodding to herself.

"Are you? Happy?" Lucas question suddenly and Hayley looked at him.

"Yeah," Hayley said.

"I hope you're right," he said.

….

Brooke found Peyton sketching in the courtyard.

"Hey, best friend," she said, sitting down. "I've been two-waying you all day. Where have you been?" she asked.

Peyton shrugged.

"Nowhere, really," she said.

"I brought you and Lucas coffee this morning but he told me that you bounced," Brooke said. "And I saw you in the hall but you ran away so fast I couldn't catch you,"

Peyton didn't look up from her sketch.

"So, give me the details," Brooke said, forcing herself to sound normal. "How are things going with Luke?"

Peyton smiled.

"We just talked for a while. I didn't stay long. It was kind of awkward after someone walked into the bedroom wearing nothing but a hoodie," Peyton glared at her.

"Oh…yeah…sorry about that," Brooke said, laughing nervously.

"It's okay. I'm just glad everything worked out," Peyton said.

Brooke looked down.

"Yeah,"

…..

Lucas found Peyton in the library drawing.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey yourself," she greeted.

"So, I've been waiting for you," Lucas said.

Peyton smiled.

"I've been here," she said.

"So, you want to do something after school?" Lucas asked. "Basketballs canceled."

Peyton nodded.

"Okay, Luke," and Lucas sat next to her pulling out a book.

They sat in a comfortable silence. Lucas reading and Peyton sketching.

It was simple.

…..

Brooke was at her locker when Lucas came up behind her and covered her eyes with his hands.

"Guess who," he stated.

Brooke giggled.

"Um…Brad Pit?" she joked and Lucas pulled away from her holding his chest.

"Ouch, that hurt," he said and leaned against the locker next to hers.

"So, what's up, Luke?" Brooke asked.

Lucas shrugged.

"Nothing. Basketballs canceled and I don't have anything to do," he groaned.

"You have Peyton," Brooke joked.

Lucas shook his head.

"Peyton's busy," he said.

"You could go hang with your friends at the river court. I'm sure their dying to see you all star," Brooke suggested, and Lucas smiled.

"That's a good idea." He approved and Brooke stuck out her tongue.

"Don't sound so surprised. I have those occasionally," she laughed.

Lucas gave her a look.

"Brooke Davis, you really are something," he said, his voice low and Brooke fought the urge to shiver.

This was going to be hard.

"Later, Lucas. I got to go," she said slamming her locker and running off before he could say anything.

"What just happened?" Lucas wondered aloud.

…..

Brooke snuck up behind Peyton, holding a camera. She snapped a picture and Peyton turned around.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Documenting," Brooke said, laying on the bed next to her. "A day as Lucas's girlfriend," she looked at the picture.

"There's something wrong with this picture, though…I know what it is. Lucas isn't in it. Where's your new boy toy?" she asked.

Peyton smiled.

"He's coming by later. We're going to watch a movie and hang out,"

Brooke rolled her eyes.

"Boooring! You guys should do something fun…like go bungee jumping or something. Unless _hangout_ is a code word for sex then by all means hangout." Brooke joked.

Peyton laughed.

"Not everything is about sex, Brooke," she said.

"Liar," Brooke gasped, before picking up the camera. "Come here."

She pressed their heads together and smiled, snapping a photo. She looked at the photo and remembered why she and Peyton were friends.

"Would you please draw your freaky drawings later? There is no basketball. We're young, we're gorgeous. We have all this free time so let's do something fun!" Brooke cheered.

"Like what?" Peyton asked.

Brooke paused to think about it.

"Let's go to a bar and get some guys to buy us drinks," Brooke said.

"What about Lucas? I'm not sure how he'd feel about me getting drinks from strange guys," Peyton said.

Brooke winced.

"Right, right…forgot about him," she said.

She glanced hesitantly at Peyton.

"Look, I just want to make sure there's no weirdness about that. You're my best friend and I would never want a guy to stand between us. So, I'm done with the Lucas chasing. I mean…I'm still going to flirt with him but that's just who I am," Brooke said.

Peyton grinned.

"Thank you," she said. "Now come one, let's go shopping. I need to get a new CD anyway,"

Brooke laughed and held out her fist.

"Hoes over bros." she said and they fist bumped.

"Maybe, afterwards we could go peek in on, Luke," Peyton suggested.

Brooke smiled happy things were going back to normal.

So what if she still had some lingering feelings for Lucas. It was just a crush.

Right?

…..

Lucas was hanging with his friends on the river court.

"Say it ain't so. Fergie and Skills take it, 15-13," Mouth announced.

Lucas and Junk fist bumped, not caring that they lost, and sat on the bench as Brooke's mini cooper came through honking its horn. Brooke leaned out the window waving her pompoms with Peyton in the passenger seat.

"Guys got his own personal cheering squad, now?" Junk asked as Lucas got up.

"How do you know they're not cheering for me?" Fergie asked.

"Trust me, dog. They ain't cheering for you, man," Skillz said, catching the basketball.

Lucas ran to Peyton and hugged her while Brooke stood off to the side not looking at them.

"Hey Luke. That mean we gonna get to see more of you since you got time on your hands, right?" Skillz asked.

Brooke grinned and made her way to sit next to Mouth.

"Probably not since he'll be busy making out with Peyton," she said.

"See, that is whacked, dog. We win the game and he gets the girl," Skillz complained and Lucas started making out with Peyton.

"Well, I'm single," Brooke said, snatching the ball from Skillz. "And I'd be happy to reward you for your win,"

Skillz looked at her.

"Seriously?" he questioned.

Brooked laughed.

"Nope," and shot the ball into the basket.

"And Brooke Davis wins the game," Mouth announced.

"What? Man, she only made one basket!" Fergie said.

Mouth shrugged.

"She's hot. Automatic win," he said and Brooke wrapped her arm around his shoulder.

"Thanks Mouth," she said and kissed him on the cheek. "I love winning,"

Mouth blushed.

"Now Mouth gets the girl?" Skillz grumbled. "That's it, I'm going home,"

He snatched up his ball and started walking away with Fergie and Junk chasing after him.

"Wait! That's my ball!" Junk yelled.

Brooke picked up her pompoms and turned to Mouth.

"Want to see a cheer?" she asked, and Mouth nodded eagerly.

"B-R-O-O-K-E! What does that spell? Me!"

If Brooke had looked behind her, she would have caught Lucas watching her with a soft smile on his face.

…..

Lucas and Peyton were in her room listening to music.

"Is this a new CD?" he asked.

Peyton nodded.

"Yeah, I brought it at the mall with Brooke," she explained.

"Cool," Lucas said.

There was silence for a moment.

"Do you mind if I run to the store real quick?" Lucas asked, standing up.

"Sure, pick me up a bag of Rasinettes." Peyton said and Lucas raised an eyebrow.

"Rasinettes?" he questioned.

Peyton shrugged.

"What? I like Rasinettes!" she said.

Lucas shook his head leaving the room.

…..

Lucas went to Tidal Creek's grocery store and grabbed some snacks. He missed Brooke sneaking up behind him.

"Guess who," she said, covering his eyes.

"Um…I'm going to have to go with my very spirited friend Brooke," he said.

Brooke smiled.

"Ding, ding, ding…we have a winner!" she said, then turned away.

"Where are you going?" Lucas asked.

"Wait here while I get your prize," Brooke said, skipping away.

Lucas went and got in line.

"Lucas?" someone called from behind him and turned to find Deb there.

"Oh…um," he stuttered and quickly put his items on the counter.

"I'm not playing hooky from your mom's café. I just ran out of coffee filters." Deb said, and Lucas nodded feeling uncomfortable.

Why did he have to run into Nathan's mom?

"Okay. See you later." He said, tuning back around, hoping the conversation was over.

"I'm glad we bumped into each other. Hayley and I were talking and we thought it might be fun to star up some live entertainment at the café." Deb continued.

Lucas made a face.

"Great," he said.

"Are you sure? If you think it's a decision your mom should be making, I understand." Deb pressed.

"No, it's a great idea. It's good. Good." He said shifting nervously.

"Good," Deb repeated.

This was the longest conversation they'd ever had.

"Lucas, are you alright?" Deb asked.

"Yeah," Lucas said, just as Brooke skipped over to him.

"Hey, I found your prize! Something for you and Peyton to do together." Brooke said, pressing a box of condoms against his chest. "Plus…for dessert."

She waited expectantly for Lucas to blush when Lucas shot a grimace over her shoulder.

Brooke turned around confused and found Nathan's mom standing there. Brooke laughed uneasily.

"Hi, Mrs. Scott,"

"Hi," Deb replied before giving Lucas a disapproving look. "Excuse me,"

She walked away leaving two mortified teens behind her.

Brooke followed Lucas out of the store.

"Of all the things to stick in my mouth, it had to be my foot." Brooke joked.

Lucas continued walking.

"Lucas, come on. Hold up." Brooke called.

"Did you see the look on her face?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah, total Judge Judy. Which is completely ridiculous considering who her son is." Brooke complained.

Lucas stopped and turned around to face her.

"She's friends with my mom." Lucas stated and Brooke winced.

"Right. Forgot about that one." Brooke said, slowly.

"It was just a joke and your mom's in Europe for the next month. So what are the odds she remembers this?" Brooke asked, brushing the hair out of her face.

Lucas gave her a serious face.

"Whipped cream…and condoms," he deadpanned.

Brooke covered her mouth with her hand and started laughing.

Lucas smiled and shook his head.

"Well, I better enjoy the next month. Because when my mom comes home I'm definitely being grounded forever," Lucas joked.

"Don't worry, I'll talk to her," Brooke said. "Mothers love me,"

Lucas raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, _Fathers_ love me but I'm sure I can charm your mom," Brooke headed towards her car and Lucas held her door open.

"See you around, Cheery," he said.

"Bye, Broody," Brooke said, getting in.

"Oh, and here," she said, handing him the bottle of whipped cream and closing her door.

Lucas was still laughing as she pulled out of the lot.

…..

Keith walked into Karen's café.

"Hey, I'm glad you're here," Deb called, grabbing a pot of coffee.

"Yeah, I heard you could use the business," Keith teased.

"Yeah, that, too." Deb admitted as Keith sat down.

"So, let me guess. Dan did something." Keith stated.

"Of course," Deb poured him some coffee. "But, actually, this is about Lucas. I saw him in the grocery store today…he was with a girl," Deb started.

"Blonde or brunette?" Keith questioned.

"Brunette," Deb answered.

Keith smiled.

"Yeah. That's Brooke. He's been spending a lot of time with her. Can't say I blame him. There supposedly just friends. He's dating Peyton now," Keith said with an eye roll.

"Well, he and Brooke were buying condoms," Deb blurted.

"Right," he said, unsurprised.

He chuckled and shook his head.

"I guess you can take comfort in the fact he's being safe…but, you know, mistakes happen. Especially if he's dating two girls at once," Deb quipped.

Keith sighed.

"Lucas isn't the type of guy to try to juggle two girls at once. I'm sure something else is going on. I'll try talking to him tonight," Keith said.

…..

Lucas was in his room with Brooke playing twenty questions.

Peyton canceled on their date tonight because she had to do a favor for Hayley so Brooke offered to hang out with him.

"Okay, first kiss?" Brooke asked.

Lucas tapped his finger to his chin.

"Hayley on a dare when we were in the sixth grade," Lucas answered.

"Worst kiss?" Lucas asked.

"Tim. He got drunk once and planted one on me at a party," Brooke shuddered in disgust.

"Best kiss?" she questioned.

Lucas wouldn't meet her eyes.

"Come on, Broody. You got to answer or I win the game," Brooke said, tickling him.

Lucas laughed and started tickling her back. They rolled around on the bed laughing until Lucas had Brooke pinned under him.

The laughter faded as they stared at each other.

"So, who was your best kiss?" Brooke whispered.

Lucas glanced down at her lips.

He leaned forward and Keith came in the room.

Lucas instantly got off of her and Brooke smiled embarrassed.

"Hi, Uncle Keith," she greeted.

"Brooke." Keith acknowledged. "Could you maybe pick this up some other time? I'd like to have a word with Luke,"

"Okay," Brooke said, grabbing her jacket.

"Wait! You don't have to leave," Lucas said, before turning to his uncle. "Keith,"

"Say good night, Luke," Keith said.

"I'll call you later," Brooke said, leaving.

Lucas frowned and stood up.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Lucas growled.

"Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing," Keith stated.

Lucas laughed.

"I get it. This is about Deb, right? It was just a joke." Lucas said.

"No, this isn't about Deb. It's about you and some incredibly bad judgement. And I think you should remember that Deb's keeping your mother's business alive while she's gone." Keith declared.

"I'm not doing anything!" Lucas protested.

"So, I didn't just catch you on top of Brooke?" Keith questioned and Lucas looked away.

"We were just fooling around," Lucas grumbled.

"And how would Peyton feel if she saw you two 'fooling around'?" Keith asked. "The Luke Scott that I know is better than this,"

Lucas groaned and fell back on his bed.

"Brooke's just a friend. There's nothing going on between us,"

"But do you want there to be something going on between the two of you?"

Lucas laughed.

"I'm with Peyton. The girl I've had a crush on since 7th grade." Lucas said.

"And is the real thing living up to the fantasy?"

Lucas didn't answer.

Things were a little off but it also felt easy. It was almost too easy.

"I'm happy," Lucas stated.

"You know, I don't think you really believe that. You might want to take a long, hard look in the mirror and see if the guy staring back at you is the guy you want to be. Because the Lucas I see with Peyton and the Lucas I've seen with Brooke are as different as night and day," Keith left the room and Lucas sighed.

Keith didn't know what he was talking about. Lucas was fine.

He knew he made the right choice.

…

Peyton was in her room with Hayley showing her the flyers for the café when Brooke called.

"Hello, best friend, pick up the phone and do not pretend that you're not there because I can see you on your cry-for-help webcam." Brooke's voice came over the answering machine.

"Webcam?" Hayley questioned looking around.

"Hi to you too, Tutor Girl." Brooke's voice quipped.

"Hold on just one second," Peyton told Hayley before answering her phone. "Hello?"

"Hey P. Sawyer. You want to go see a movie with me? I'm bored," Brooke whined.

She'd been avoiding Lucas since yesterday. That had been a close call and she didn't want to make another mistake like that.

"Look, I'm busy. I promised I would do something." Peyton said.

Brooke frowned.

"Fine, well call me back when you're finished with Tutor Girl." Brooke ordered.

"Okay. Yeah, I'll call you tonight. Bye." Peyton hung up.

Brooke looked around her room trying to find something interesting to occupy her time with. Her eyes settled on the box set of weird science.

"Jackpot!" Brooke squealed. "All I need now is a carton of mint chocolate ice-cream and I'm all set,"

…..

"So are you and Lucas going to come?" Hayley asked, as she and Peyton put a flyer on a car.

"Yeah," Peyton said.

"If you don't mind my asking, what made you realize that you were ready to give Lucas a chance?' Hayley asked.

Peyton shrugged.

"I don't know. I guess when I heard Brooke say that she kissed him and I realized that my chance with him was slipping away. Then I got there and I poured my heart out to him and Brooke came into the room half naked with only his sweatshirt on." Peyton frowned.

"Well, I'm glad Lucas made the right choice," Hayley said.

"Yeah, everything's perfect. But Brooke is my best friend and things feel awkward between us. I don't believe she was really serious about Lucas but still I can't help but wonder…" Peyton trailed off.

"Look, between you and me, I don't' think that Brooke and Lucas would ever have, like an epic romance. It probably would have been a fling until Brooke got tired of him and moved on to someone else. I don't really see Brooke as the relationship having type but Lucas said she's a good friend and I'm trying to give her a chance." Hayley said.

"What do you think I should do?" Peyton asked.

"Talk to her," Hayley said.

…

Lucas and Peyton walked into Karen's café holding hands.

"So, this is the place," Lucas said, gesturing around.

"Looks good," Peyton said, looking around.

Her eyes met Brooke, who was sitting at a table by herself with a bowl of ice-cream.

"I'm going to go sit with Brooke," Peyton said and Lucas gave her quick peck on the lips before they separated.

Brooke smiled hesitantly.

"Hey Peyton,"

"Hi, Brooke,"

They both were quiet for a second.

"So, you're eating a bowl of ice-cream?" Peyton said.

Brooke nodded, lifting her spoon.

"I had a craving," she muttered.

Lucas came and stood behind Peyton. Brooke's eyes flickered up to him before she looked back at Peyton.

"You mind if I join you?" Lucas asked, looking at Brooke.

"Oh, you guys probably want to be alone," Brooke said, standing up. "I'll see you two later,"

Brooke ran out of the café, wishing she had just stayed home.

"Brooke!" Peyton called, from behind her.

Brooke turned around.

"Where are you going?" Peyton asked.

Brooke shrugged.

"You've been avoiding me and I thought maybe you wanted to be alone with your boyfriend," Brooke said.

"I wasn't avoiding you. This just felt weird and I…" she trailed off. "It's not you, Brooke. It's me,"

"Are you breaking up with me?" Brooke asked with a giggle and Peyton smiled.

"I just don't know if your cool with this and after that night…I don't know" Peyton grumbled.

"You're my best friend. Of course I'm happy for you,' Brooke lied.

"Really?" Peyton asked.

Brooke nodded. "I don't think I'm ready for a relationship anyway. I just want to have fun,"

"Alright, then will you come inside and hang out?" Peyton asked.

Brooke nodded and pulled Peyton in for a hug.

"I love you, Peyton and I would never do anything to jeopardize our friendship," Brooke whispered.

"Me either," Peyton said and they went back inside.

Peyton went to sit beside Luke and Brooke went to order a diet coke.

She looked over at the two of them and smiled sadly.

Lucas's eyes met hers.

"You okay?" he mouthed.

Brooke nodded and turned away.

They really did look good together.

"Okay, so I just wanted to remind everybody that the stage is open. If anyone has any hidden talents they want to reveal." Hayley announced.

Brooke considered juggling.

"I'll give it a shot," Jake said, before she could offer.

"Great. Come on up." Hayley said. "Jake Jaglieski, ladies and gentlemen,"

People clapped and Jake set his daughter on the stage.

"So, normally, I only sing for my daughter. But something that a friend said convinced me that I should open up to a wider audience. This seemed like the right time and place. So, everyone, this is my daughter Jenny. And Jenny, this is my whole world." Jake said.

Brooke was confused.

"Jake has a baby?" she said to herself.

She looked over at Lucas and Peyton who were kissing.

"You okay?" Hayley said, coming to stand beside her.

Brooke looked at her surprised.

"Hi, Tutor Girl." She said, forcing a smile but Hayley didn't look fooled.

"You really did like him, didn't you?" she asked.

Brooke looked away and nodded.

"Yeah, I did…but I'm happy for them." She said.

"You really mean that?"

Brooke glanced at Peyton who was smiling.

"Yeah," Brooke said softly. "I do,"

Hayley patted her on the shoulder.

"Lucas was right. You are a good friend," she said, before walking away.

Brooke's eyes met Lucas's and he sent her a smile.

Brooke smiled back and looked at Jake who was still singing on stage. He was really talented. Brooke clapped, when it was over, before going over to talk to him.

"You have a baby?" she asked.

"Yep. This is Jenny," Jake said, smiling.

Brooke looked down at the baby.

"She looks like you,"

"That's not a good thing," Jake laughed.

"She's really pretty," Brooke said.

"Thanks, Brooke," Jake said, as he picked up Jenny.

"Anytime," Brooke called after him.

She watched him as he walked away missing the dark look on Lucas's face as he glanced between them.

Keith noticed though and sighed.

"This looks like trouble,"

He watched Lucas say something to Peyton and make his way over to Brooke. He watched as Lucas said something that made Brooke laugh and touch his arm. He saw Lucas's smile soften. And he saw Peyton watching them with an unreadable expression.

"Serious trouble," he muttered.

* * *

 **Author's note: So Keith is Team Brucas. Let me know what you think about this story please.**

 **I'll try to update soon.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Over My Head (My Heart Vs. My Soul)**

 **Summary: A rewrite of One Tree Hill where Lucas chose Peyton in 1X09 with a slow building romance for Brucas. Brooke and Lucas have the same heart but he and Peyton have the same soul. Which matters more?**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own one tree hill. Also there are spoilers for Maugham of Human Bondage. All songs are from the Top 100 song list of 2003.**

 **Enjoy~**

 _Why are you crying? Cause the man I love can never love me back. What can I do to make you feel better? Nothing. Why? I know you can't help me. Why not? Cause you're in love with someone else, right?_

 _-unknown_

 **XXXX**

Lucas was in the library with Brooke. Peyton had texted him earlier and said that something came up so she would see him tomorrow. Brooke said Peyton canceled on her too so they decided to hang out. And Brooke refused to hang out at his house after the almost kiss so they went to a neutral setting.

He grabbed a book off the shelf.

"Here we go. This is the writer I was talking about." Lucas said, handing Brooke the book.

"Somerset Moggum?" she read and Lucas took it back.

"It's "Maugham of Human Bondage." Lucas corrected.

"Bondage?" Brooke said, sounding interested.

Lucas laughed.

"It's not like that," he protested.

"So, you're good. Are we done here?" she asked.

"Right. I just thought this was about an opportunity for us to spend some time, hang out with each other." Lucas asked, raising an eyebrow.

"And it is." Brooke said, with a grimace. "But can we, maybe, do it some place that smells a little less…funky?"

Lucas nodded and smelled the book, before holding it out to Brooke. Brooke smiled.

"It smells of old books." Lucas stated and Brooke slapped it away.

"Like I said." She joked. "Come on. Please?" she pouted.

Lucas pretended to think about it.

"Just keep it legal,"

Brooke nodded and then realized how close they were standing.

What was she doing?

"Actually, you know what? This is perfect! Let's go find a table and you can read your bondage book to me." Brooke rambled, talking a few steps back so there was space between them.

Lucas squinted his eyes in confusion.

"You sure?" he asked and Brooke nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah, I want to know why you like it. After all that's what friends do! They read books and whatnot, right?"

Lucas nodded, slowly.

"Sure,"

Brooke clapped her hands.

"Then we have a plan!" she cheered, before looking for a table.

They sat next to each other and Lucas passed her the book.

"Oh no, Luke. I meant it when I said that I want you to read it for me. And you better do the voices," Brooke demanded.

Lucas rolled his eyes.

"Fine, but you can at least read along with me silently." He stood up and grabbed another copy of the book.

"Eww," Brooke whined.

Lucas opened up the book and waited.

"Okay, okay. But you owe me!" Brooke said.

Lucas shook his head and started reading.

Brooke tried to look bored but after a while she seemed to be interested.

"How about I do the men voices and you do the women voice?" Lucas suggested.

Brooke pretended she didn't want to but he could see the way her eyes lit up.

She looked down at her book.

"Is the Brute fed?" she asked, then paused. "Are you going to Narrate?"

Lucas shrugged and stared reading.

"He nodded, smiling and she lit a cigarette for him. Then, as she loved to do she came back and sat on his knees. She was very light. She leaned back in his arms with a sigh of happiness." Lucas read and paused.

Brooke read her line then leaned toward him.

"Say something nice to me," she purred.

Lucas gulped and looked at the book.

"What shall I say?" he asked.

"You might by an effort of imagination say that you rather liked me." Brooke kinked her eyebrow.

"You know that I do," Lucas blurted, then looked back at the book so he could narrate.

"He had not the heart to tell her then, he would give her peace at all events for that day and perhaps he might write to her. This would be easier. He could not bear to think of her crying. She made him kiss her, and as he kissed her he thought of Mildred and Mildred's pale thin lips. The recollection of Mildred remained with him all the time, like an incorporated form, but more substantial than a shadow; and the sight continually distracted his attention." Lucas wondered why this struck a chord with him.

"You're very distracted," Brooke noted.

"You never let me get a word in, and I've got out of the habit of talking," He answered.

"But you're not listening and that's bad manners," Brooke pouted and Lucas decided that if nothing else Brooke Davis would make a good actress.

She was beautiful enough to be an actress. With be her raspy voice and dimples she'd probably put Kate Bosworth out of work.

"Luke, you're supposed to be narrating," Brooke said, placing her hand on his shoulder, after he spent a full minute just staring at her.

Lucas blushed and shook his head to clear his mind.

"He reddened a little, wondering if she might have some inkling of his secret; he turned away his eyes uneasily. The weight of her irked him this afternoon, and he did not want her to touch him." Lucas almost laughed.

Why did he pick this book?

"My foot's gone asleep," he said.

"I'm sorry," Brooke said with false embarrassment. "I shall have to bait…bant," she stumbled over the next word but pulled herself together before he could correct her. "I shall have to bant if I can't break myself of this habit of sitting on gentlemen's knees."

"He went through an elaborate form of stamping his foot and walking about. Then he stood in front of the fire so that she should not resume her position. While she talked he thought that she was worth ten of Mildred; she amused him much more and was jollier to talk to; she was cleverer, and she had a much nicer nature. She was a good, brave, honest little woman; and Mildred, he thought bitterly, deserved none of those Epithets. If he had any sense he would stick with Norah, she would make him much happier than he would ever be with Mildred; after all she loved him and Mildred was only grateful for his help." Lucas paused, thinking of Peyton.

Why did she suddenly decide she wanted to be with him?

He hadn't questioned it because he didn't want to chase her off but what if-

"Lucas!" Brooke's voice rose.

Lucas's eyes snapped to her.

"You're being all broody again. Do you want to stop reading? Because-" Brooke started and Lucas shook his head.

"No, I'm good. Hold on," He cleared his throat. "But when all was said the important thing was to love rather than be loved; and he yearned for Mildred with his whole soul. He would sooner spend ten minutes with her than a whole afternoon with Norah, he prized a kiss of her cold lips more than all Norah could give him," he recited.

"I can't help myself…I've just got her in my bones." Lucas tried to sound thoughtful and Brooke tilted her head, frowning.

"He did not care if she was heartless, vicious and vulgar, stupid and grasping, he loved her. He would rather have misery with one than happiness with the other." Lucas read and Brooke stared at him.

"But why?" Brooke asked.

Lucas looked down at the book. That wasn't what Norah said.

"Huh?" he asked.

"Why does he like Mildred more than Norah? It sounds like Mildred is using him? Norah loves him so why would he cast her aside for Mildred?" Brooke questioned.

"I mean, who in their right mind would choose to be with someone who makes them miserable when they could be happy?"

Lucas didn't know what to say.

"I guess you can't help who you love," Brooke mumbled, then her phone beeped.

"Hello? Really? I'll be right there!" Brooke hung up and stood.

"Where are you going?" Lucas asked, standing up to.

"Bevin said there's a sale at the mall and I have to get there before someone buys all the good stuff," She turned to leave then hesitated.

She grabbed her copy of Maugham of Human Bondage and smiled.

"I'm going to check this out and maybe we could finish reading it later?"

Lucas nodded and Brooke left. Lucas looked at his book, before going to check it out to.

Who knows? Maybe he and Brooke could start a book club.

…

Lucas made his way to Peyton's house when he heard a crashing noise. He noticed her front door was open and called her name. Lucas grabbed a rake off her porch and threw down his backpack before heading inside. He called Peyton's name again and received no answer. He found a man in the kitchen going through the cupboards. He knocked on the table with the rake to get the man's attention.

"Where's Peyton?" he asked.

"Dressing for school's my guess," the man said, unfazed by Lucas's presence.

"Who are you?" Lucas interrogated.

"I'm the guy who's about to take that rake from you and beat your scrawny ass," The man threatened.

Lucas narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on the rake in preparation for a fight.

"I'm her dad. Who are you?" the man announced and Lucas almost dropped the rake.

"Sorry," he said, nervously. "The front door was open, and I thought…" he trailed off. "I'm Lucas," he said, holding out his hand.

"Larry Sawyer," the man replied, shaking his hand.

"Dad, do you know where my…" Peyton trailed off when she noticed Lucas.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"He's trying to rake me to death," her dad answered, helpfully.

"What?" Peyton laughed.

Lucas looked embarrassed.

"I thought you were…Nothing crucial." He decided. "I'm going to go put this back,"

Peyton and her father started laughing.

….

Brooke and Peyton were walking together through the courtyard.

"So what did Lucas do now?" Brooke asked.

"Lucas?" Peyton repeated confused.

"He's the reason you're smiling, right?" Brooke asked, knowingly.

"Actually, that would be my dad," Peyton replied.

Brooke smiled dreamily.

"I'd be smiling too, but for entirely different reasons." She said, and Peyton slapped her on the arm.

"Dude, that's my dad. Don't go all horn dog on me! There's a line." she said and Brooke giggled.

"Well, maybe I'll stop by later and ask your dad how far that line goes," Brooke said, kinking her eyebrow.

Peyton looked like she was about to hit her again and Brooke tensed.

"I'm just kidding! But maybe we could all have dinner. It's been a while sense I've had Larry's famous chili," Brooke said.

Peyton sighed.

"I'll ask but I think my dad was taking us out to eat." Peyton said.

"Us?" Brooke questioned.

Peyton smiled.

"Me and Lucas. I want my dad to get to know my boyfriend and Nathan wasn't exactly up to standards in that area so Lucas should be an improvement." Peyton joked.

Brooke nodded, but her eyes were sad.

"Hey, you could join us if you want," Peyton said, seeing the look on her face.

"No, that's okay. I'll just go curl up in the tub with a good book," Brooke said.

Peyton shook her head.

"That's funny. Brooke Davis reading? The tabloids would have a fit,"

Brooke laughed too but inside she was hurt.

"Yeah, you're right. I should give Bevin a call. We could go get some sushi," she announced.

"Good idea," Peyton said, walking ahead and Brooke followed her after a second of hesitation.

…

Brooke found Lucas sitting at a table by himself, doing his homework, and grinned.

"All work and no Brooke make Luke a boring boy." She joked, sitting down.

Lucas's face lit up.

"Hey, Brooke," he said.

"I got something for you," Brooke said, reaching into her book bag.

"But I don't have anything for you," Lucas joked.

"And yet you do," Brooke said.

She handed Lucas a CD.

"I made you a mix CD of all my favorite songs. Because if you keep listening to Peyton playlist of death you'll be even more of a broodier than you are now. Don't get me wrong. The brooding is hot! But only in moderation…" Brooke was rambling.

Lucas watched her face while she talked, enjoying how open her expressions were.

"Brooke," he called, when he realized she seemed to have forgot what she'd been talking about.

"Oh, right, so this has some of my favorite songs on it and I figured that we'd exchange CD's and compare." She said.

Lucas turned the case around.

"In those jeans?" he questioned.

Brooke smiled.

"Who doesn't like genuine?" she asked and Lucas shook his head, chuckling.

"Okay, if that's what you want," Lucas said, and Brooke nodded.

"Also, I need help with my English assignment," she added.

Lucas gave her a look.

"What? I brought you a present!" Brooke pouted and Lucas couldn't be mad.

"Sure, what part do you need help with?" he asked.

Brooke pulled out her paper and Lucas read it over.

"Alright, I see where you made some mistakes. I'll make some corrections and we can go over these later," He said.

Brooke sighed, relived.

"Thanks, Luke," she said, as the bell rang.

"Check out track eight and thirteen. You'll love them! Bye," she grabbed her bag and was gone.

Lucas stared after her with a bewildered expression.

"Brooke Davis," he mutter to himself, putting the CD in his bag and getting up.

…..

Lucas found in the art room, drawing.

"Hey, Peyt," He said, kissing her cheek.

"Lucas," she said, smiling.

"So, I'm sorry about this morning with your dad." He apologized and Peyton laughed. "I had no idea he was there,"

Peyton shrugged.

"It's because he usually isn't," Peyton said, sadly then tried to make the conversation light. "Hopefully, you'll make a better impression at dinner tonight,"

Lucas looked concerned.

"I thought you were happy with your setup?" he questioned.

"That's what I tell him. I'll make up stuff in the e-mails I send him about how happy I am being on my own and how responsible I'm being, even when I'm not. He loves his job, you know? And after my mom died," Peyton paused. "It's just not fair to ask him to give that up. But I miss him when he's away,"

"Did you tell him that?" Lucas asked.

"He worried…It's just better not to," Peyton stated.

Lucas looked at the book in his hands.

"Listen, do you mind if I just sit here and read while you draw?" he asked.

"As long as you don't act out the parts," Peyton said, and Lucas laughed remembering yesterday with Brooke.

"Yeah, right," Lucas said, opening his book.

Peyton glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes with a smile tugging at her lips before looking back at her drawing. Lucas glanced at her when she looked away before looking back at his book.

This was nice…but something was missing.

…..

Lucas was in the library with Brooke going over her essay.

"Okay, so do you here?" he said, pointing to the sentence he highlighted.

Brooke nodded.

"You don't need this line because you already made the same point early on." He explained.

Brooke grabbed her pen and crossed it out. Lucas went over a few more errors and Brooke frowned.

"This is why I don't do homework. I suck at it!" Brooke complained.

Lucas shook his head.

"This is actually a really good essay. It's a little rough around the edges but other than that you should get a B," he promised.

Brooke smiled.

"Really?" she asked, with barely concealed joy.

"Really," Lucas said.

Brooke clapped her hands and squealed.

"Yay, I'm not an idiot!"

Lucas squinted his eyes.

"Who said you were an idiot?" Lucas asked.

Brooke shrugged.

"I tried to get tutoring before but the girl who was tutoring me said that I was hopeless and when the guy took over all he was interested in was…" she trailed off.

Lucas frowned.

"Well they were wrong. You're more than what people think you are. Tell you what? Next time you need help with an assignment you come to me or ask Hayley," Lucas said and Brooke nodded.

"Okay, Luke," Brooke said, and they went back to finishing up her paper.

"Do you want to finish reading Maugham of Human Bondage?" Lucas asked and Brooke shook her head.

"You should be leaving now, right? You have dinner with Peyton and her dad," Brooke reminded him.

Lucas looked at the clock.

"Shoot! I'm going to be late," he cried, standing up and grabbing his book off the table.

Brooke watched him leave and smiled sadly before looking over her essay.

"Brooke Davis gets a B on an essay? The tabloids with have a riot,"

…

Lucas rushed into the café and looked around. Peyton's dad called out to him and he went over to their table.

"Sorry, I'm late. I was-" Lucas started but Larry shook his head.

"Sit down, rake boy." He said, gesturing to a chair.

"Hey," Lucas said, and they slapped hands.

"I'm never going to live that one down." Lucas muttered, as he sat down.

"Probably not," Larry agreed.

"It's okay. He can be way worse." Peyton said, and everyone laughed.

"What do you got there? You're reading Faulkner in school now?" Larry asked, stealing Lucas's book.

"No, I just love his stuff." Lucas said, he'd tried to get book to check it out but she said that she should finish the one they were reading first.

Peyton's father passed the book to Peyton and she started flipping through the pages.

Brooke came into the café and went to the counter.

"Hey, Tutor Girl. Can I get a slice of cake? I'm celebrating!" she asked.

Hayley nodded, looking hung over.

"What kind?" she asked.

"Chocolate and what happened to you?" she asked.

Hayley shrugged.

"I skipped sixth period to go drinking on the beach with Nathan," she confessed and Brooke let out a slow whistle.

"I don't know whether to be proud or worried. Was that the first time you ever drank?" Brooke asked and Hayley didn't answer.

"You know, drinking isn't the answer to whatever identity crisis Nathan is having this week and you shouldn't do it with him," Brooke said, wisely.

Hayley set her cake in front of her.

"What do you know?" Hayley asked, crossing her arms.

Brooke rolled her eyes.

"Please, Nathan and I have been friends for years. He's the one who gave me my first beer and let me tell you, that is a road you don't want to travel," Brooke said, taking a bite of her cake.

Hayley sighed.

"I just want to be there for him." She said.

Brooke nodded.

"I know, but try to be there for him in a way that doesn't involve you skipping and drinking. You don't want to end up being the next Brooke Davis because, I'm sorry, but you couldn't pull it off," Brooke joked.

Hayley laughed.

"There's only one Brooke Davis," she said. "Though you did try to make me a second one,"

Brooke cringed.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I was drugged," she admitted.

The two started talking and laughing causing Lucas to glance over. He smiled when he noticed Brooke and Hayley getting along. Peyton noticed the smile on his face and followed his gaze. She frowned and Lucas's smiled widened.

"Hey, Brooke!" he called, and Peyton's dad looked over to.

Brooke froze.

"Please don't tell me that Lucas is here with Peyton and her dad," she begged Hayley.

Hayley sighed.

"Okay, I won't tell you," she said, walking back into the kitchen.

She turned her head slowly and forced a smile.

"Hi, you guys!" she said waving.

Larry waved his hand.

"Come join us! Feels like I haven't seen you in years!" he said.

Brooke tried to think of an excuse before giving up and taking the empty seat to the right of Lucas.

"Hi, Peyton's dad," she said, with a smile.

Larry looked her over.

"You've really grown. You look nice. Did you have a hot date or something?" he asked.

Brooke blushed.

"Nope, I just came to get a slice of cake to celebrate," Brooke said.

Peyton raised an eyebrow.

"Celebrate what?" she asked.

Brooke hesitated.

"I might be getting a B on my English essay," she said.

Lucas smiled, proud of her, Brooke smiled shyly turning redder by the second and Peyton laughed.

"No, really, what are you celebrating?" Peyton asked, and Brooke's smile fell.

"I…um…" Brooke couldn't think of a response.

Lucas shot a dark look at Peyton.

"What? You don't honestly expect me to believe that she's getting a B, do you? She's never gotten higher than a C-." Peyton said and Brooke sank down in her chair.

"You're right. I was just joking!" she said, forcing a smile. "I just felt like eating some cake."

"Brooke," Lucas started and Brooke cut him off.

"I got to go! People to see, boys to flirt with, parties to hit," she said, then turned to Peyton's dad. "It was really nice to see you,"

She left the café and Lucas stood up.

"I'll be right back," he told Peyton and ran after Brooke.

"Brooke!" he called and Brooke paused.

"What?" she asked.

"Why'd you lie? You could have shown her your essay." He said and Brooke shook her head.

"I'm not that person, Luke. I'm not smart. I don't do well in school. Peyton's right. No one would ever believe me," she said.

"I would," Lucas protested and Brooke smiled softly.

"Yeah, that's probably why I like you so much," she admitted and Lucas smiled too.

"I like you too, Brooke Davis."

Neither of them noticed Peyton watching them through the window with a suspicious expression.

….

Lucas was at his locker when Peyton came to him.

"So, what was that last night with Brooke?" she asked.

"What are you talking about?" Lucas asked, confused.

"You two looked pretty friendly," she stated.

Lucas laughed.

"That because we're friends," he said.

"Right," Peyton said, skeptically.

"Where is this coming from?" he asked.

"I don't know. It's just that you two spend a lot of time together and…" Peyton trailed off.

Lucas sighed.

"Look, I had my chance to be with Brooke and I chose you, didn't I?" he asked.

Peyton nodded and smiled.

"Okay, you right. I'm just being silly," she said.

Lucas shrugged.

"That's okay. You're allowed to be sill every once in a while," he lifted her chin with his fingers and gave her a peck on the lips.

"I'll see you at practice," she said, and walked away.

Lucas turned back to his locker when someone hugged him from behind.

"You're the best!" Brooke exclaimed.

"Thanks," Lucas said, not even trying to get her to let him go. "Why am I the best?" he asked and Brooke pulled away.

"I got a B+!" Brooke cheered, and showed him the paper.

"That's great," Lucas said. "I knew you could do it," he messed up her hair and Brooke slapped him hand away.

"It's all because of you!" Brooke said, then looked around.

"Where's Peyton?" she asked and Lucas groaned.

"She seems to think that there's something going on between the two of us." Lucas said and Brooke frowned.

"I should go talk to her. What did you tell her?" Brooke asked.

"I said that we were just friends. I had my chance to with you and I picked her. She'd being ridiculous!" Lucas said and Brooke sighed.

"Yeah, I mean, why would anyone pick me when they could have Peyton, right?" Brooke asked, dejectedly.

Lucas's eyes widened.

"Brooke, I didn't mean-" Lucas started but Brooke shook her head.

"No, I get it. You and Peyton have this intellectual/emotional thing and I'm just a fun time," she stated.

"You are not just a fun time. You're more than that Brooke. You're sweet, and funny, and you're smart, even if you don't know it and beautiful, and…" Lucas trailed off.

Brooke shot him a hopeful look.

"And?" Brooke pressed.

The bell rang.

"I got to get to class," he said, slamming his locker. "We'll continue this later,"

Brooke watched him go, replaying his words in her head.

She smiled.

…

Brooke and Peyton were at cheerleading practice.

"Look, about last night," Brooke said and Peyton shook her head.

"No, you and Lucas are friends. I understand," Peyton said. "I just been feeling weird sense my dad announced that he was taking this job and," Peyton shrugged. "I know you'd never do anything like that,"

Brooke smiled but felt a little guilty.

She wasn't do anything wrong. So she liked hanging out with Lucas. So she still had lingering feelings. As long as she didn't do anything about it then she was fine.

"And I'm sorry about last night," Peyton said. "I didn't mean to make you feel stupid. I know you can do well in school if you tried,"

Brooke smiled.

"Actually," she ran to her bag and pulled out her essay. "I got a B+!" Brooke announced.

Peyton look surprised.

"I'm so proud of you!" Peyton said, pulling her into a hug.

That's when the basketball players ran into the room.

"Hey," Peyton said, to Lucas.

Lucas grinned.

"Hey, you. And you," he nodded his head to Brooke.

Whitey blew his whistle.

"Welcome back, gentlemen. Let's see how soft you all got after that little hiatus…Suicides Now!" he ordered.

Jake ran into the gym with Jenny.

"That better be a basketball, Jaglieski," Whitey said.

"Come on, Coach. It was either this, or I miss practice." Jake explained.

"All right. Find her a spot with a good view, so she can watch her daddy throw up." Whitey said.

"I'll take her, Jake." Brooke said and Peyton shot her a look.

"What?" she said at the same time Jake said "Yeah?"

"Sure, she can be an honorary cheerleader for a day," Brooke said, going over to her.

"Thanks," Jake said and Brooke smiled.

"It's no problem." She said.

Brooke looked at Jenny who was chewing on a brush.

"You're a cute little girl, aren't you?" she teased, and tickled her.

Jenny giggled.

"Brooke, maybe I should watch her," Peyton said and Brooke shook her head.

"Its fine," she waved her pompom in front of Jenny.

"All right, gather around." Whitey ordered and all the basketball player ran over.

"Where's Nathan? Tim, you're his girlfriend. Where is he?" Whitey asked.

Tim shook his head.

"I don't know, Coach. He was in school today." Tim said.

Whitey looked around before glancing at his clip board.

"All right. I've got some offensive sets worked out here. Line up at the low stacks." He demanded.

Brooke was still playing with Jenny and the other cheerleaders were getting antsy.

"Brooke," Peyton called and Brooke's head snapped up.

"Right," she said and got up.

Peyton took her place beside Jenny but Jenny reached her arms out for Brooke.

"Ug...goo," she whined.

Brooke turned around and gave Jenny one of her pompoms with a smile.

…..

Lucas was in his room writing an email to his mom.

' **Hey Mom, I was just thinking of you.'**

Keith came into his room.

"Hey, Luke, how are you doing?" he asked.

Lucas smiled.

"I'm fine," he said. "Just writing an email to mom."

Keith nodded.

"Good, how's Peyton?" he asked.

Lucas shrugged.

"She's having dinner with her dad," he said.

Keith leaned against the doorjamb.

"How's Brooke?" he asked and Lucas smile grew.

"She's good. She got a B+ on an essay that I helped her write and she's reading this book that we picked out which she makes me do the voices to and she gave me this CD to listen too…" He trailed off realizing what just happened.

Keith smirked.

"Just friends, right?" he asked and Lucas groaned.

"Leave me alone," he growled.

"Okay, okay," Keith said, chuckling and turned to leave.

"By the way, what song is this?" he asked.

"My love is like…Wo. It's by Mya," Lucas said, as he went back to typing his email.

Keith smiled.

"And who gave you this CD?" he asked.

"Broo-Damnit Keith!" he exclaimed as his uncle closed the door laughing.

Lucas shook his head and sent the email to his mom before flopping on his bed.

So what if he was listening to the CD Brooke gave him? He actually liked some of her music…even if a lot of it was kind of…

 _My sex is like, WO_

 _My ass is like, WO_

 _My body's like, WO_

 _Ain't you're kissin' it?_

 _So what you think of it? WO_

 _Hold me, yeah_

 _Hold me, oh, my_

 _Tasty, my, tasty, my_

Lucas laughed so hard he almost cried.

….

Brooke was walking out the school when Jake caught up to her.

"Missing this?" he asked, holding out Brooke's pompom.

"Thanks, I gave it to Jenny to play with and she looked like Christmas came early." Brooke said, smiling.

"Maybe she'll be a cheerleader," Jake said and Brooke nodded.

"I'd be happy to have her. She can already swing a pompom better than most of the girls on the squad and with her cuteness we'd definitely win the cheerleading contest," Brooke joked.

"All right. That might be fun to watch. Would she get to stand on of the pyramid?" Jake asked.

Brooke shook her head.

"She's got a long way to go before she earns that," Brooke warned.

"Well, whatever makes her happy," Jake said and they both laughed.

"It's nice how good you are with her," Brooke said and Jake shrugged.

"It's not that hard. From the moment I saw her, I was totally hooked. She's so cute. And I think about watching her grow up. I couldn't imagine not being there." He stated.

Brooke looked away thinking of her own parents. They hadn't been home in a few days and, when they were home, they just looked right through her as if she wasn't there.

"I bet you're a really great dad." Brooke said, wistfully.

"I don't know. Some days I wonder." He said with a shake of his head.

"You are. If you weren't a great dad then you wouldn't worry about it," Brooke said.

"Thanks, Brooke," Jake said, smiling.

Brooke smiled back and neither one noticed Lucas who was leaning against a pillar glance in their direction with an unhappy look on his face.

…

Larry was in Peyton's room looking at her artwork when Lucas came in.

"Doorbell broken?" Larry asked.

"She never hears it?" Lucas said. "She always has her music on"

"I tell myself I'm doing what's best for my daughter…that she should have whatever she wants." Larry pondered, aloud.

"What I think she wants is you," Lucas admitted and handed him the paper. "Did you see her comic strip today?"

"What strip?" Larry questioned and looked at the picture of a girl aging as a boat leaves the dock.

"It's supposed to be anonymous. Our secret, okay?" Lucas said, and Larry nodded.

…..

Lucas was still at Peyton's house eating a sandwich and drinking a cup of coffee when Peyton got home.

"Are you waiting for me?" she asked, and Lucas smiled.

"Actually, I'm just hanging with your dad." He replied.

"God help me." Peyton said and Lucas stood up, putting down his cup and finishing off his sandwich.

"Welcome home," he said and kissed her.

"Am I interrupting?" Larry asked, as he came in the room with a duffle bag on his arm.

Lucas looked nervous.

"Actually, I was just going," he said, and ran out of the house before her dad could kill him. "Call you later, Peyton"

…..

Brooke and Lucas were sitting on his porch with their books. They had just finished going over their homework together, when Brooke suggested they continue where they left off.

Lucas wondered why Brooke refused to go inside his house but figured that maybe his Uncle made her nervous.

"You do spoil me," Brooke said, running her fingers though Lucas's hair.

"Hey," Lucas protested, knocking Brooke's hand out of his hair. "You're just supposed to be doing the voices. Not acting it out."

Brooke shrugged and gestured for him to continue.

"He took her hands and kissed them," he narrated.

Brooke giggled.

"It is nipping to have you here," Brooke said.

"He arranged the cushions and photograph frames. She had sever jars of green earthware." Lucas paused to change his voice to how he thought Philip would sound. "I'll get you some flowers for them,"

"As I'm not going out anymore I think I'll get into a tea-gown," Brooke said. "Undo me behind, will you?"

Brooke lips twitched and he could tell she was trying hard not to laugh.

"She turned around as unconcernedly as though he were a woman. His sex meant nothing to her. But his heart filled with gratitude for the intimacy her request showed. He undid the hooks and eyes with clumsy fingers." Lucas paused and Brooke waited for him to continue.

"The first day I came into the shop I never thought I'd be doing this for you now," Lucas said, with a forced laugh.

"Somebody must do it," Brooke answer, arrogantly.

He could see a difference in the way she acted when she was reading for Noah and when she was reading for Mildred. She poured more of herself into Noah than she did Mildred.

"She went into the bathroom and slipped into a pale blue tea-gown decorated with a great deal of cheap lace. Then Philip settled her on a sofa and made tea for her.

"I'm afraid I can't stay and have it with you. I've got a beastly appointment. But I shall be back in half an hour." Lucas read, trying to sound regretful.

"He wondered what he should say if she asked him what the appointment was, but she showed no curiosity. He had ordered dinner for the two dinner for the two of them when he took the rooms, and proposed to spend the evening quietly. He was in such a hurry to get back that he took a tram along the Vauxhall Bridge Road. He thought he had better break the news to Norah at once that he could not stay more than a few minutes." Lucas read, and Brooke frowned in disapproval.

"I say, I've got only just time to say how do you do," Lucas said. "I'm frightfully busy,"

Brooke did her best to look hurt.

"Why. What's the matter?" she asked.

"It exasperated him that she should force him to tell lies, and he knew that there was a demonstration at the hospital which he was bound to go to. He fancied that she looked as though she did not believe him, and this irritated him all the more." Lucas read.

Brooke sighed.

"Oh, well, it doesn't matter," she said. "I shall have you all tomorrow."

"He looked at her blankly. It was Sunday, and he had been looking forward to spending the day with Mildred. He told himself that he must do that in common decency; he could not leave her by herself in a strange house." Lucas read and Brooke looked furious.

"The bastard," she muttered.

"I'm awfully sorry. I'm engaged tomorrow." Lucas said.

"Yeah, he's busy chasing Mildred's ass around like a stray dog," Brooke accused.

"He knew this was the beginning of a scene which he would have given anything to avoid. The color on Norah's cheeks grew brighter." Lucas delivered.

"But I've asked the Gordon's to lunch," she cried. "I told you weeks ago,"

"I'm awfully sorry, I forgot," he hesitated. "I'm afraid I can't come. Isn't there somebody else you can get?" he asked.

"What are you doing tomorrow then?" Brooke asked, crossing her arms.

"I wish you wouldn't cross-examine me." Lucas shook his head in false exasperation.

"Don't you want to tell me?" Brooke asked.

"I don't in the least mind telling you, but it's rather annoying to be forced to account for all one's movements." Lucas complained.

"Norah suddenly cringed. With an effort of self-control she got the better of her temper, and going up to him, took his hands." Lucas narrated

"Don't disappoint me tomorrow, Philip," she begged. "I've been looking forward so much to spending the day with you. The Gordons want to see you, and we'll have such a jolly time."

"I'd love to…if I could." Lucas felt bad and this wasn't even real.

"I'm not very exacting, am I? I don't often ask you to do anything that's a bother. Won't you get out of your horrid engagement…Just this once?" she begged, her eyes filled with sadness.

"Of course, I will," Lucas said and Brooke shot him a confused look and glanced down at the book.

"That's not what Philip said," Brooke said and Lucas laughed.

"Sorry I forgot. You were really convincing and I don't like to see you beg," he admitted.

Brooke smiled.

"Glad to know, Luke. Now will you please go back to being Philip so I can hate you again?" Brooke asked and Lucas nodded.

"I'm not very exacting, am I? I don't often ask you to do anything that's a bother. Won't you get out of your horrid engagement…Just this once?" she repeated her line.

"I'm awfully sorry, I don't see how I can," he replied.

"Tell me what it is," Brooke said.

"Griffith's two sisters are up for the weekend and we're taking them out," Lucas explained.

Brooke sighed.

"Is that all?" she asked, sounding relieved. "Griffith can so easily get another man."

"He wished he had thought of something more urgent than that. It was a clumsy lie," Lucas read.

"No, I'm awfully sorry, I can't –I've promised and I mean to keep my promise." He declared.

"But you promised me too. Surely I come first," Brooke cried.

"I wish you wouldn't persist," Lucas said.

Brooke's face turned red with anger.

"You won't come because you don't want to. I don't know what you've been doing the last few days, you've been quite different." She accused.

Lucas glanced at his bare wrist, pretending to look at a watch.

"I'm afraid I'll have to be going," he said.

"You won't come tomorrow?" Brooke questioned.

"No," Lucas stated.

"In that case you needn't trouble to come again!" Brooke shouted and Lucas jumped in surprise.

"That's just as you like," he said, nervously.

"Don't let me detain you any longer," she said, bitterly and turned away from him.

"Brooke," Lucas said gently. "Are you okay?"

"He's really just going to abandon her?" Brooke asked and Lucas didn't know what to say.

"Why doesn't anyone want Norah? She's so nice. She's going to end up all alone and Philips' probably going to marry that slut Mildred. It's not fair," she sounded like she was about to cry.

"Hey," Lucas said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "He doesn't marry Mildred. She ends up becoming a syphilis riddled prostitute." He said.

"Good," Brooke huffed but still wouldn't turn around to face him.

"Brooke, come on. It's just a book," he said and Brooke shook her head.

"Things like that happen all the time. Norah's never get the guy. They're always glossed over. He didn't even have the decency to apologize." Brooke complained.

Lucas sighed.

"Do you want to stop reading?" he asked and Brooke nodded.

"I don't want him to go back to Mildred," she admitted.

Lucas rubbed her shoulder.

"I don't either but that's the way the writer wrote it." Lucas said.

"Well maybe the writer made a mistake." Brooke stated and Lucas nodded.

"Okay," he said and they sat in silence for a minute.

"I'm sorry," Brooke finally said. "I didn't mean to get upset,"

Lucas smiled.

"It's fine. A lot of people get lost in books." He said and stood up.

"Do you want to come inside?" he asked and Brooke shook her head.

"I should be getting home," Brooke nervously.

"Oh come on, I think we have some cookies," Lucas tempted and Brooke shook her head.

"Not tonight," she said, and grabbed her bag, stuffing her book in her bag.

"Okay," Lucas said, sadly.

Brooke gave him a look.

"Did you listen to the CD I gave you?" she asked and Lucas nodded.

"Yeah, there are some really nice songs on there," he said, glad to keep the conversation going.

He really liked spending time with Brooke. She was interesting and so open about everything she was feeling.

"Thanks. Peyton always tells me that I have no taste in music. Glad to know that someone likes my taste," she said and shuffled her feet.

"Bye," she said and Lucas nodded.

"Bye," he said and she walked away.

He turned to go in the house and found Keith standing there.

"You're an idiot," Keith said and Lucas glared at him.

"How long have you been there?" he asked.

Keith shrugged.

"Long enough to know that Brooke is going to get an Emmy one day and to realize that my nephew is a fool," he replied.

Lucas growled and shoved past him into the house.

"I can't wait for mom to come back," he announced.

Keith laughed and looked in the direction that Brooke had gone.

"Well she's not a Norah," he muttered, then glanced back to where Lucas had gone. "Not a Mildred either."

He went back into the house and heard music coming from Lucas's room.

 _Sliding down the pole, horny but fo sure_

 _Both our hands were up, drinks was in the club_

 _She showed me some love so we left the club_

 _Now were up in the Hummer V_

 _She's hot, she's kissing on me_

 _This is the girl of my fantasy_

 _After the remix, we were doing our thing_

 _I had her singing_

 _Thoia, thoia, thoia, thoia, thong, thong_

Keith barely got the door to his room closed before he started laughing.

His nephew had it bad.

* * *

 **Author's note: Please review and let me know what you think.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Over My Head (My Heart Vs. My Soul)**

 **Summary: A rewrite of One Tree Hill where Lucas chose Peyton in 1X09 with a slow building romance for Brucas. Brooke and Lucas have the same heart but he and Peyton have the same soul. Which matters more?**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own one tree hill.**

* * *

Lucas walked into Peyton's bedroom to find her on her webcam with her father.

"Hey, rake boy." Larry greeted. "I see you still haven't learned to use the doorbell,"

"Hey, Larry. How are you?" he asked.

Larry took a sip from his mug.

"I'm fine. What are you doing up so early?" he inquired.

Lucas shrugged.

"I don't know. Peyton just-" he started and Peyton jumped up before he could finish.

"No, you know what? You'll find out when you get home." she told Larry.

"Not even a little hint?" he questioned.

"Not even. I love you," Peyton said with a smile.

"You better. I love you, too, honey." He replied before signing off.

"So, what's up?" Lucas asked, once he was gone.

Peyton sent him a flirty look.

"Who said anything was up? Maybe I just wanted to spend some time with my boyfriend…without my dad watching," she stated, and stood up.

Lucas gave her a half smile.

"Morning Peyt," he said and gave her a peck on the lips.

Peyton surprised him by wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a deep make out session. Neither of them noticed Brooke come into the room.

"Oh my god!" she cried, covering her eyes and the Lucas pulled away from Peyton quickly.

"Right, I invited Brooke," Peyton muttered, straightening out her clothes.

"I can come back," Brooke offered, still covering her eyes.

Lucas looked uncomfortable and wouldn't make eye contact at either of them.

"No, that's okay," Peyton said. "I called you for a reason,"

She walked out of the room leaving Brooke and Lucas alone.

"Morning Brooke," Lucas said, blushing and rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "What are you doing here?"

"Peyton called and asked me to come over." Brooke paused and shot Lucas a suspicious look. "This wasn't some secret ploy to invite me for a threesome, is it? Because-"

Lucas interrupted her.

"I don't know why she called you. She didn't tell me what she wanted either. But if she was surprising with a threesome I wouldn't be opposed." Lucas joked with a shrug.

Brooke kicked him.

"Shut up! Me and Peyton getting into some hot girl on girl action? You wouldn't know what to do with us." Brooke giggled.

Lucas sighed.

"You're probably right," he admitted.

"Anyway, I'm sorry I interrupted you and Peyton's morning fuc-" Lucas covered her mouth with his hand.

"Please stop talking." He begged.

Brooke nodded and made a zipping motion across her mouth.

"My lips are sealed," she promised, as they followed Peyton.

"So, what the surprise?" Brooke asked.

"I need your help with something," she said and pulled the sheet off the red car.

Lucas let out a slow whistle as he looked at it.

"Damn, that's nice," he complimented. "This your dad's?"

Peyton nodded, a wide grin on her face.

"Yeah, he hasn't driven it in a year, though. Do you think you can get it to run?" Peyton requested.

"Of course he can. But are you sure you want me here with you guys. I mean, he'll probably look hot in a tight little wife beater, maybe some grease smudges. You won't be able to keep his hands off of him and I don't want a repeat of this morning," Brooke joked.

"Well, I was thinking maybe you could help me wash and wax it. But if you don't want to…" Peyton trailed off, pressing her cheek against Brooke's and pulling her into a half-hug.

Brooke smiled and nodded.

"I'm glad to help."

Peyton walked over to where Lucas was checking out the car.

"I just want to do something nice for him, since he's coming home." Peyton explained and Lucas gave her a smirk.

"All right. I'll go get my tools." Lucas said, before walking off.

Brooke turned to Peyton.

"Okay, spill!" she demanded and Peyton look confused.

"What?" she asked.

"Why'd you call me over if you knew you and Lucas wanted to get all hot and heavy?" Brooke asked, with her hands on her hips.

That was not something she wanted to see.

Peyton shrugged.

"I kind of forgot I called you," she confessed, embarrassed.

"Yeah, well, next time you want to do the nasty with Lucas, warn me first, okay?" Brooke pleaded. "I'll make sure I take my time coming,"

Peyton laughed.

"Me and Lucas haven't done anything yet," Peyton said, and Brooke's eyes lit up before she could stop it.

"Seriously?" she asked.

Peyton nodded.

"We're taking it slow. We'll we were…" Peyton smiled. "I think I might be ready to take the next step,"

Brooke felt like someone punched her in the gut.

"Yeah?" her voice came out weird and high-pitched

Peyton looked at her and Brooke forced herself to look normal.

"That's great! You know you shouldn't wait too long. Your lady business might start developing cobwebs and Lucas might have to bring a dust buster!" Brooke started babbling, unable to contain herself.

Peyton cringed.

"Eww, can we not talk about my lady business on my front lawn?" Peyton pleaded.

Brooke nodded, trying to smile but it didn't reach her eyes.

"This is good. I have a loving boyfriend, my dad's coming home, this is turning out to be a really good day," Peyton said, linking her arm with Brooke.

Brooke bit her lip and kept quiet.

…..

Lucas was in the car trying to figure out what was wrong with it, while Brooke leaned in the window.

"It's not the battery. It's probably the starter." He sighed.

Brooke looked worried.

"Well, you can fix that, right?" she asked and Lucas chuckled.

He turned to look at her.

"Yeah, it shouldn't be a problem." He stated and Brooke got in the car.

"It's an amazing car." Lucas said and Brooke smiled.

"Yeah, Peyton's dad used to drive us to school in this thing," Brooke told him.

Lucas raised an eyebrow, wondering why she rode with Peyton's dad. Didn't her parents drop her off?

"So, how can I help?" Brooke asked, and Lucas shook his head.

"You don't have to do anything. I got this," he assured her and Brooke smiled.

"That's good, because I don't know anything about cars," Brooke admitted and Lucas pushed her shoulder.

"Then why offer?" he asked, and Brooke tugged on his necklace.

"It's common curtesy. If I didn't offer, that would be rude," she huffed.

"What would you have done if I took you up on your offer?" he asked and Brooke shrugged.

"Naturally, I would have pretended I knew what I was doing and you would have had to fix it later." She stated, casually.

Lucas laughed and tickled her side.

"Naturally, of course," he said, and Brooke giggled, trying to slap his hands away.

They were both laughing when Peyton came out of the house with a weird look on her face. Lucas moved away from Brooke, guiltily.

"I was just getting started," he blurted, getting out of the car.

Brooke followed his lead.

"What's wrong?" she asked, Peyton.

Peyton shook her head.

"I'm just worried about my dad." She said, looking between the two of them.

She led them back to her room.

"Alright, I just checked online and now they're saying it's a category three hurricane." Peyton announced.

"You already checked the webcam, right?" Lucas questioned.

"Yeah, it's out." Peyton stated.

"Well, maybe he turned it off," Brooke suggested.

"Or the storm did it for him." Peyton grumbled and Lucas wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"Hey, storms knock that kind of thing out all the time, right? Anyway aren't fishing boats huge?" Lucas asked, trying to give her some comfort.

"He wouldn't be on the dredging boat." Peyton said, pushing him away. "If there's a storm headed this way, he'd be on this little, tiny transport headed back to shore and that's what worries me."

"Okay, Peyton, just stop. Don't do this to yourself, all right?" Lucas begged. "Just because he hasn't checked in doesn't mean something happened to him."

Peyton gave him a glare.

"It doesn't mean it hasn't either." She snapped.

Brooke and Lucas stared at her unable to think of what to say. They decided to leave her alone until she snapped out of her mood.

…..

Brooke was behind the wheel of the car trying to get it to start and Lucas was looking under the hood.

"All right, try it again." He ordered and Brooke turned the key.

It turned on and they both cheered.

"We got power!" Brooke shouted, gleefully and Lucas laughed.

"Peyton, come check it out." He called and they noticed she was crying.

Brooke was out of the car instantly.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I just got a phone call. It's the storm. My dad's transport is missing." She explained, her voice hoarse from crying.

Lucas's eyes widened.

"There were three guys on it. They recovered a body." She explained.

"What did they tell you?" he asked and Peyton glanced at him.

"I have to go see if it's him." She explained.

Brooke looked alarmed and Lucas pulled Peyton into his arms as she started sobbing.

…

"You sure you shouldn't call your grandmother?" Lucas asked as he followed Peyton down the stairs with Brooke close behind.

"No, she'd freak out. I'd rather not upset her. Besides, it's not going to be my dad." Peyton said with a fake smile.

"Of course it's not." Brooke agreed.

"Let's go ahead and get this over with. We have a four-hour drive ahead of us," Peyton stated.

"A four hour drive into a storm?" Brooke asked, disbelievingly.

Peyton glanced at Lucas before looking back to Brooke.

"The storms passing through. By the time we get there, it should be gone." Peyton reassured her.

Brooke nodded but her expression didn't change.

"Okay, wait a second. Shouldn't somebody stay here by the phone in case your dad call?" he asked, seeing that Brooke looked nervous.

"I will." Brooke said, jumping on the offer. "You go with Peyton."

"You sure?" Peyton asked and Brooke nodded.

"Lucas is good in a crisis, not that there's going to be one. But I would end up falling apart, and you'd end up taking care of me which is not the point…" Brooke shook her head to get back on track. "Besides, Lucas is your boyfriend and he's the one you want there with you when you get bad news,"

Peyton made a face.

"Or good news. It will definitely be good news," Brooke added in a rush.

She hugged Peyton.

"I love you. It's going to be okay," she promised then turned to Lucas.

"Take care of her for me." She pleaded and Lucas nodded.

"I will," he swore and hugged her.

Lucas and Peyton headed out the door.

"I'll call you guys if I hear anything!" Brooke yelled at the backs.

…..

Lucas was driving Peyton's car when he noticed Peyton shivering.

"You warm enough?" he asked.

"I'm okay," Peyton assured him. "I should probably get the heater fixed in here,'

They smiled at each other.

"I could have Keith take a look at it for you. He's really good at that kind of stuff." Lucas offered.

Peyton nodded and went back to looking out the window. Lucas watched her, wishing he could do something.

"You want me to stop and get some coffee?" he inquired and Peyton shook her head.

"I'm fine, thanks," she mumbled, before glancing at Lucas out of the corner of her eye.

"Thanks for doing this for me, Luke." She said.

Lucas smiled.

"What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't help my girlfriend when she needed me?" he asked, before turning back to look at the road.

Peyton nodded, but her eyes were sad as she watched him.

They reached a roadblock.

"Now what?' Peyton complained, as they got out of the car.

The road crew members headed over to them.

"What's going on?" Lucas asked.

"The bridge is up because of the storm," the construction worker explained. "It'll be open in the morning."

The guy turned to leave.

"Hey! We have an emergency. We have to get across the bridge." Peyton yelled.

The guy shook his head.

"I'm sorry, miss, but it's not safe," he apologized.

Peyton scoffed and looked at Lucas.

"Okay, is there another way though?" Lucas asked.

"Only the ferries. But the channel's too rough, so they're not running." The guy informed them.

"Well, what are we supposed to do?" Peyton questioned.

The guy shrugged.

"Hopefully, we'll be able to lower the bridge in the morning. 6:00 a.m." the guy pointed somewhere behind them. "There's a motel right down the road. Might want to grab yourself a room before they're all gone."

Lucas and Peyton looked at each other before getting back in the car.

It was going to be a long night.

….

Lucas and Peyton were heading inside their motel room.

"All right, let's just try to get some sleep," Peyton said, taking off her jacket. "Then we'll be at the bridge as soon as it opens up. What'd he say, 6:00 a.m.?"

Lucas nodded.

"We'll be there at 5:00 a.m." he promised, taking off his coat.

Peyton groaned as she made her way over to the bed then laughed.

"What?" Lucas asked, setting his coat on the chair.

"I'm in a hurry to find out of my dad is dead." she shook her head. "It's just kind of surreal."

Lucas sat down in a chair and looked at her, sympathy in his eyes.

"Yeah, it's pretty messed up." He agreed.

Peyton turned to look at him.

"You know in dreams, you're always trying to get to some place you need to be but you never really get there?" Peyton asked, her eyes welling up.

"Yeah?" Lucas stated, confused.

Peyton sat down on the bed with her back to him.

"I wish I could wake up." She admitted.

Lucas wasn't sure how to respond to that.

"Maybe we should try to get some sleep. You think you can?" he suggested.

Peyton nodded.

"Okay," Lucas said, standing up then he looked at the only bed in the room.

"I'll just sleep on the floor, all right?" he said, not wanting her to think he was going to take advantage of her while she was vulnerable.

"Don't be stupid." Peyton told him, laying down.

Lucas turned off the light and hesitantly made his way to the bed, sitting down.

"Look, Peyton. I wish there was something I could say or do to help you through this." He confessed.

"You already have," Peyton told him as he slipped up the covers beside her.

"Thanks Lucas," she said, curling into his side.

"Goodnight," Lucas said, wrapping his arms around her.

"Good night," Peyton said, laying her head on his chest.

They both stared at the ceiling, listening to the other breathe.

Lucas thought of Brooke at home, all alone, waiting and sighed.

Lucas heard a jingling noise and glanced down to see Peyton messing with her bracelet.

"Hey, what you got?" he asked.

Peyton sighed.

"To my heart, Love Dad," she read, stroking her bracelet. "He gave it to me on my last birthday,"

Peyton pulled away to look Lucas in the face.

"What if it's him, Lucas?" she asked.

Lucas stroked her cheek and smiled.

"It's not going to be." He swore.

Peyton closed her eyes.

"I don't know what I'd do." She confessed.

"It's going to be okay," Lucas promised.

"I just keep trying to picture walking into that room and seeing him lying there, but I hit a wall. Why does it seem like every time things are finally going to be okay something terrible happens?" she asked, looking at him.

"You don't know that it has," Lucas protested, before touching her hand that had the bracelet. "Keep him close to your heart, Peyton."

Peyton nodded.

"Get some sleep, okay?" he asked, and Peyton turned away from him facing the wall.

Lucas reached out, his hand inches from her shoulder, before sighing and putting it beneath his head.

He fingered the necklace Brooke gave him with the other and wished there was a way to help Peyton.

'If Brooke were here, she'd know how to make Peyton smile.' Lucas thought, he waited a few minutes then once Peyton breathing was even he slid out of bed and left the room, making sure to grab his cellphone.

…..

Brooke was waiting in the living room, glancing at the phone every few seconds, wishing that someone would call with good news.

She tried watching TV but quickly gave up on that in favor of pacing the floor.

"Come on, come on," she muttered to herself, gripping her phone tight in her hand.

"Ring Damnit!" she snapped and tossed her phone on the couch.

Her phone started ringing the second it touched the couch. Brooke snatched it up.

"Hello?" she said, breathlessly.

"Brooke?" Lucas's voice called from the other line.

"Is everything okay? Was it Peyton's dad? How is she?" Brooke asked, firing off questions too quickly for Lucas to answer. "I should have come. Oh god, Peyton's crying, isn't she? Oh no-"

"Brooke? Brooke? Hey? Brooke!" Lucas shouted, to get her attention before she hyperventilated.

"Right, I'm here," Brooke said, calming down.

"Good, now everything fine. The bridge was up because of the storm so we couldn't go see the body yet. We're spending the night at a motel and heading out in the morning." Lucas explained.

Brooke frowned.

"Isn't there another way for you to get there?" she asked.

Lucas shook his head, even though she couldn't see him.

"No." he stated before sighing. "I don't know what I'm doing, Brooke. Peyton's falling apart and I don't know what to say."

Brooke felt a pang in her chest at the thought of her best friend.

"Okay, here's what you do?" she said, then listed off things that made Peyton feel better when she was worried.

Lucas listened attentively and smiled.

"Thanks, Brooke. You're a good friend and I feel better after talking to you," he admitted.

"No problem, Luke. Do me a favor and have Peyton call me tomorrow." She said, "And don't forget the snacks."

Lucas nodded.

"I will, bye Brooke."

"Bye, Lucas. See you tomorrow."

Lucas hang up the phone before heading to the vending machine, like Brooke told him to.

Peyton always craved sweets when she was sad.

….

Peyton was awake when Lucas came back to the room.

Lucas sat the snacks on the table.

"What's all this?" Peyton asked, sitting up.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to wake you." Lucas apologized.

"I wasn't asleep," Peyton said, with a lift of her lips.

It wasn't a smile but close enough.

"I hit the vending machine." Lucas explained. "Hungry?"

He tossed Peyton a can of soda and she gave him a full smile.

"I thought you should probably eat something." He said, opening up a bag of Nacho cheese Dorito's.

Brooke told him that those were Peyton's chips of choice when she was sad and he pocketed a pack of rasinettes to give her later, before sitting beside her on the bed.

"After my mom died, my dad couldn't cook. So we lived on frozen pizzas for the longest time." Peyton laughed at the memory. "I could live on pizza. He'd buy these cheese pizzas and then he'd put his own toppings on. Pickles, bologna, pineapple, whatever."

"That's nasty." Lucas laughed.

"No, actually, they were really good." Peyton protested. "I think he did it mostly just to make me laugh. You know, to help me forget for a little bit."

The alarm went off letting them know it was 4:45.

Peyton smile faded and Lucas shut the alarm off with a sigh.

"You ready?" he asked.

"No," Peyton said, bluntly.

She and Lucas stared at each other, knowing that this could end horribly.

"Let's go," Peyton finally said, sliding off the bed.

Lucas grabbed the keys off the table and Peyton put on her coat then they were off.

…..

Lucas and Peyton were at the Coroners.

The coroner lifted the sheet and Lucas waited for Peyton to say something.

"It's not him," Peyton said, and Lucas hugged her.

After they left, Lucas turned to Peyton.

"You did good." he told her.

"I felt like my heart was going to explode." Peyton admitted.

Lucas pulled out his phone and called Brooke.

"Peyton's place,' Brooke answered.

"Hey, it's me." Lucas said and Brooke smiled.

"Hey! I was just dialing you. That's freaky." She laughed.

"It's good news." Lucas said, smiling and Peyton glanced over at him.

"Yeah, I know. The Coast Guard made contact with the boat. He's fine." She explained and Lucas let out a sigh of relief.

"They found your dad. He's okay." He told Peyton.

Peyton hugged him and Lucas held her for a second before pulling away to say bye to Brooke.

"All right, we're headed home."

Brooke nodded, still smiling.

"Okay, I'm waiting. Tell P. Sawyer I love her." Brooke said.

"Will do, Bye" Lucas stated and hung up.

"Oh my god. That's-" Peyton started with a smile then realized she was missing something.

"Wait?" she said, rubbing her wrist.

"What?" Lucas asked.

My bracelet. I must have left it in the motel." Peyton said, before taking off.

Lucas followed her.

"All right. Let's go." He said.

…..

Peyton and Lucas arrived back in the motel and Peyton started tearing the room apart looking for her bracelet.

"It has to be here." She said, searching the bed.

She pulled the sheet off and there it was.

"Got it?" Lucas asked and Peyton nodded.

She looked at her bracelet and started crying.

"Hey. It's okay. Everything's okay now, okay?" Lucas said, brushing her hair out of her face.

He rubbed her shoulders and pulled her into hug. Lucas pulled away to say something else and Peyton surprised him with a kiss. Lucas stood frozen for a few seconds before his brain finally caught up and kissed her back, cupping her face. Soon they were making out. Lucas paused to peel Peyton's jacket off and then they were kissing again. They fell back onto the bed and shirts were removed. They were about to go further when-

"Ouch," Peyton suddenly cried.

Lucas paused.

"Sorry," he said and Peyton laughed.

"Hair. It's in your necklace." She said and unclasped it.

"Brooke," Lucas blurted, looking at it.

"What?" Peyton asked, confused.

"Brooke gave me that necklace." Lucas said and he realized he couldn't do this.

"You know we uh… we probably should get going." Lucas stuttered and Peyton nodded, looking hurt.

"Okay," Lucas said and he got off her and put back on his clothes.

Peyton continued to lay there for a minute, her mind racing.

It couldn't be…

…..

Lucas was driving back home, when he looked over at Peyton.

She hadn't said anything to him since they left the motel.

"Look, Peyton-" he started but she cut him off.

"Don't." she snapped and Lucas flinched.

Peyton took a deep breath and forced herself to relax.

"It just wasn't the right time. Besides, Brooke's waiting right?" she asked and gave Lucas a hard look.

"Yeah," Lucas said, nervously.

Peyton forced a smile.

"We just got carried away. Everything's fine," she said.

Lucas glanced over at her.

"Is it?" he asked and Peyton's smile fell.

"Of course it isn't." she admitted and Lucas shot her a worried look but didn't say anything.

They drove in silence the rest of the way home.

…..

When Lucas and Peyton got back to her house, Brooke was waiting for them.

Peyton got out of the car and slammed her door angrily and Brooke ran to her. Lucas got out of the car while Brooke hugged Peyton.

"It's okay," Brooke said, while holding her.

She pulled away to look Peyton in the eye and smile. Then she hugged Lucas, who couldn't help but relax and smile once her arms wrapped around him.

He rubbed her back, while Peyton watched then with dread in her eyes before looking away.

When Brooke let him go, Lucas looked at Peyton and tried to smile but it came out more as a grimace. Brooke smiled brightly and linked her arm with Peyton's tugging her into the house. Lucas reluctantly followed them, absentmindedly touching the necklace Brooke gave him.

What was wrong with him?

He sighed and wondered if he should just go home.

Brooke was smiling and chatting with Peyton though every few seconds she would send a happy look in his direction.

Peyton was frowning and responding to Brooke with short response though every few seconds she would send a suspicious look between him and Brooke.

Lucas stayed quiet and wished that he never left the river court.


	5. Chapter 5

**Over My Head (My Heart Vs. My Soul)**

 **Summary: A rewrite of One Tree Hill where Lucas chose Peyton in 1X09 with a slow building romance for Brucas. Brooke and Lucas have the same heart but he and Peyton have the same soul. Which matters more?**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own one tree hill.**

 **A/N: Part one of 2**

 _"When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up."_  
 _― C.S. Lewis_

* * *

Lucas had spent all weekend thinking about what happened. He wished he had someone he could talk to but his uncle would probably try to convince him he was in love with Brooke. His mom was out of the country. Hayley was busy with Nathan and Brooke…

He wasn't sure he wanted to know what she would say.

He caught up to Peyton on the stairs at school.

"Peyton," he called and she turned to look at him.

"So, how's everything with your dad?" he asked, unsure how to bring up what happened.

"He's fine. Thanks." Peyton said and tried to run away.

"Wait!" Lucas exclaimed, grabbing her arm. "What about us?"

Peyton wouldn't meet his eyes.

"Bad timing, right?" she said and Lucas flinched.

"Look, Peyton. What happened wasn't because of…" he trailed off.

"Listen, let's just bury it and pretend it didn't happen, okay?" Peyton suggested and Lucas wondered if she just meant the…incident…or if she meant their entire relationship.

Lucas shook his head, panicking inside.

"I don't want you to think that I…" He paused, grasping for an excuse. "Okay, I'm not really very experienced and I know that you and Nathan had a very…physical relationship."

Peyton raised an eyebrow.

"How much non-experience are we talking?" she asked.

Lucas blushed, avoiding her eyes, and Peyton's eyes widened.

"You're a …?" she trailed off and Lucas nodded.

"Oh," she said and they both stood in an awkward silence.

"So, this isn't about Brooke?" Peyton finally asked and Lucas opened his mouth to say something when Brooke came bouncing over.

"Hi, Friends, what's the latest scandal?" she asked, looking between them.

Peyton glanced at Lucas but all his attention was on Brooke.

"Well, I heard," Lucas leaned close to her and stage whispered, "They're having sloppy Joe today at lunch,"

Brooke rolled her eyes.

"You two never have any good gossip." She accused before turning back to Peyton. "Are we still redoing your bedroom tonight?"

"Yes," Peyton stated and Brooke smiled.

"Terrific," she said before smirking at Lucas. "Up for some heavy lifting?"

Lucas wasn't sure he wanted to be trapped in a room with both Brooke and Peyton so soon after the motel incident and by the guarded look she had; Peyton probably didn't want him there either.

"Well, I…" Lucas stuttered, trying to come up with an excuse.

"Would love to help you darling girlfriend with her bedroom, right?" Brooke finished for him.

Lucas's shoulders slumped.

"Yeah," Lucas said, resigned.

"You, me, and Broody in your bedroom all night. The webcam pervs are going to love it." She teased and Peyton laughed.

Lucas couldn't help but smile at how good Brooke was at putting Peyton at ease.

Brooke linked arms with Peyton and led her to class.

Lucas watched them go with a sinking feeling in his stomach.

Peyton wouldn't tell Brooke about….what happened, would she?

….

Lucas was at his locker after practice, putting his things away, when he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He stared at himself and remembered the argument he had with Keith a few weeks ago.

 _"_ _You might want to take a long, hard look in the mirror and see if the guy staring back at you is the guy you want to be. Because the Lucas I see with Peyton and the Lucas I've seen with Brooke are as different as night and day,"_

Lucas looked at the necklace that Brooke gave him. A present for helping her with her essays…a gift that he hadn't taken off since she fastened it around his neck and he knew for a fact that she had a matching anklet, he'd seen it a few times during practice.

He wondered if it was a bad sign that he and Brooke had matching jewelry to symbolize their friendship and he hadn't felt the need to inform Peyton.

Lucas hesitantly reached around to unclasp the necklace and paused.

 _ **(Flashback)**_

 **"** **Lucas,"**

 **He was listening to his headphones, Brooke's CD playing in his CD player.**

 **"** **Lucas,"**

 **He kept walking; the voice drowned out by Your Body Is a Wonderland by John Mayer, when someone jumped on his back.**

 **"** **Lucas!"**

 **Lucas struggled to hold his balance and his Cd Player fell to the ground.**

 **"** **Quit ignoring me!" Brooke squealed, still clinging to his back.**

 **"** **Brooke?" Lucas questioned, confused, wrapping his arms around her leg to keep from dropping her.**

 **"** **I've been calling your name for 5 minutes. What gives?" She growled.**

 **Lucas looked down at his fallen CD player and Brooke followed his gaze.**

 **"** **Oops. I'm sorry," Brooke said and tapped his shoulder to get down.**

 **Lucas let her down and tried to ignore his body's reaction to her sliding down his back.**

 **"** **What's going on, Brooke? I haven't seen you all day," Lucas stated and Brooke grinned.**

 **"** **I skipped school today!" she exclaimed, her eyes twinkling with joy.**

 **"** **Well, you should have sent me a text or something. I was worr-" He broke off from his Lecture mode when Brooke dangled a necklace in front of his face.**

 **He glued his gaze onto it for a full five seconds, before bringing his eyes back up to her.**

 **"** **Do you like it?" she asked, practically vibrating with excitement and Lucas nodded.**

 **"** **That's a nice necklace," he said, "But it doesn't really seem like something you'd wear,"**

 **"** **It's yours."**

 **Lucas squinted at her.**

 **"** **You brought me a necklace?" he asked and she nodded her smile widening.**

 **"** **I saw it at the mall and thought of you," she said, and Lucas felt his heart speed up, "Look, just turn around."**

 **He turned his back to her and with a little bit of difficulty she unhooked the catch and brought it around the front of his neck.**

 **"** **There," she said, getting off her tiptoes and clapping her hands. "You look good,"**

 **He touched his new accessory not sure how he should feel about it.**

 **"** **What's the occasion?" he asked and Brooke's smile dipped for a second.**

 **"** **You don't like it?" she asked and he quickly shook his head.**

 **"** **No, I love it. I'm just curious about what I did to deserve such a…lovely present," he explained and her grin came back.**

 **"** **It's a thank you present for helping me with my school work." She said still grinning smugly. "BFF jewelry, see? I got you the necklace and I've got the anklet at home," She gestured between herself and Lucas.**

 **"** **Not that I'm not grateful, because I am, but wouldn't something like this be better suited for you and Peyton?" he questioned.**

 **She shook her head.**

 **"** **She'd never go for something silly like this. She'd probably say it was stupid and wear it under her shirt. But I know you'd wear it proudly." She stated.**

 **"** **Why?" he asked and her smile softened.**

 **"** **Because you're a good guy, Luke."**

 _ **(Flashback end)**_

He took off the necklace and put it in his locker. He tried to ignore the strange ache in his chest as he closed the door and went to find Peyton.

He knew that he had to put his all into this thing with Peyton or else he would always regret it.

He found her in the hallway.

"Hey, Peyton." He called and she turned to him with a shy smile.

"Oh, hey, what's up?" she asked.

"You got a sec?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah." She said after a brief hesitation.

"I'm sorry for what happened. Let me make it up to you. How about we go out for lunch later? It'll be nice. I'll dress up and everything." Lucas said.

"I don't know. Don't you have to help Brooke study for her test tomorrow?" she asked and Lucas fought the urge to flinch.

Brooke had been studying hard for the last few days and he'd hate to abandon her but…

Peyton must have seen the indecision on his face.

"It's okay, Luke." She said in a tone that let him know that it wasn't okay. "We can have lunch another day. Go help Brooke."

She turned to walk away from him and Lucas grabbed her arm and pulled her back around to face him. He kissed her, desperately trying to prove something…to who he wasn't sure. When he pulled away Peyton looked up at him with hopeful eyes.

"I'm taking my _girlfriend_ out on a date. So be ready by 5," he said and walked off before she could say anything…

Because he knew that if she asked one more time, he'd cancel; already he could feel his resolve crumbling.

He'd been helping Brooke study for a while and they'd gotten into the habit of eating ice-cream after while watching a few episodes of weird science on the couch afterwards. It felt almost like a tradition now and he'd hate to be the one to break it.

He shook his head and went to fiddle with his necklace only to touch his shirt.

Right, he put the necklace in his locker.

He'd get Haley to help Brooke study and he'd make it up to Brooke another time.

She'd understand.

She had to.

His neck felt cold and he could already feel the bitter after taste of regret.

She had to.

….


	6. Chapter 6

**Over My Head (My Heart Vs. My Soul)**

 **Summary: A rewrite of One Tree Hill where Lucas chose Peyton in 1X09 with a slow building romance for Brucas. Brooke and Lucas have the same heart but he and Peyton have the same soul. Which matters more?**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own one tree hill**

 _I feel my heart ache, but I've forgotten what that feeling means."_  
 _― Chuck Palahniuk, Choke _

* * *

Brooke was sitting on Lucas's porch, with her English book. She glanced at the clock on her phone for a third time. Lucas was supposed to meet her here at 4:00 but it was going on 5:30.

"He's probably just running late," Brooke muttered to herself, reading the study guide Lucas had made for her.

She shivered a little as a breeze brew by and she wished she had thought to bring her jacket.

"Come on, Lucas," she said, and the door behind her opened.

"Finally," Brooke said, smiling as she turned around, "I thought you forgot—"

She cut herself off when she found Keith staring at her.

"Brooke?" he said, confused, "What are you doing out here?"

"Oh…Hi…Mr. Scott," Brooke laughed nervously, standing up.

Ever since that day when Keith interrupted her and Lucas in his bedroom, she had felt a little weird around him.

"I was just waiting for Lucas," she said, picking up her book and her notes, "He was supposed to help me study for my test tomorrow,"

Keith gave her that squinty look that she was sure his nephew inherited from him.

"Lucas? He called a while ago and said he wouldn't be home until late." Keith said, and Brooke sighed, relieved.

He hadn't forgotten about her…he was just running late. Brooke was about to sit back on the porch, content to wait a little while longer when Keith continued.

"He and Peyton have a date,"

Brooke froze.

"What?" she said, and Keith frowned.

"He said he had plans with Peyton and that he wouldn't be home until a little after dinner," Keith explained and Brooke felt hurt.

"He didn't tell me," Brooke muttered, looking at her cellphone.

He had forgotten…

"Are you alright?" Keith asked, and Brooke nodded, forcing a smiling.

"I'm fine." She said, gathering up her stuff, "Thanks for telling me, Mr. Scott. I should probably head home then,"

Keith felt bad. He knew Brooke had feelings for her nephew and he was positive that his nephew returned those feelings…the only thing keeping them apart was Lucas's stubbornness with Peyton.

Peyton, who was Brooke's best friend and Lucas's girlfriend.

Keith shook his head; he did not miss the complications that came with dating in high school.

"Do you want to come inside for a few minutes?" he asked, and Brooke quickly shook her head.

"No, that's ok," Brooke replied and paused, "But can you do me a favor?"

Keith nodded.

"Sure thing Ms. Davis." He said, putting his hands in his pocket, and leaning against the doorjamb. "What can I do for you?"

Brooke hesitated, "Can you not tell Lucas that I came by?"

Keith nodded.

"Already forgotten," he said, making a zipping motion across his mouth.

Bella smiled and glanced down, "Thank you, Keith,"

She walked away and Keith watched her go.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Sorry I was gone so long. But I had a very good reason. I lost my one tree hill boxset which sucked, but I brought another one so...**

 **I also had a baby! He's so cute and I just love him so much. I named him Jaylen and he looks just like me...if I was a boy. The problem is that I haven't really found a lot of time to write. But I'm working on it!.**

 **Sorry this chapter wasn't that long. I just wanted to put something out there. The next chapter will be longer**


End file.
